Kris Maher and Cameron McWhirter reported in Monday’s Wall Street Journal that, “Ohio is joining a growing list of states ramping up efforts to control potentially toxic algal blooms that are fouling water supplies and making summer swims dangerous in lakes, ponds and reservoirs across the country with increasing frequency.”

The Journal writers explained that, “Last month, Ohio released a draft of a multiyear plan aimed at curbing the amount of phosphorus that enters Lake Erie primarily via the Maumee River. The nutrient, which drains off farmland, sewage treatment plants and streets and lawns, feeds algae growth in the lake each summer. The plan is subject to public comment through June 25.

“Joe Cornely, a spokesman for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, said the group is cautiously supportive of the state’s plan, which also seeks to address sewage overflows from treatment plants and bad septic systems. ‘Farmers are willing to do their share, but they can’t do this alone,’ he said.”

The Journal article noted that, “Minnesota adopted a rule in 2015 that requires farmers and others to install a 50-foot buffer of vegetation around rivers, lakes and wetlands. After complaints from farmers, the rule was amended in April to exclude drainage ditches on private land.

“Wisconsin has set the most stringent maximum limits for phosphorus in rivers, lakes and reservoirs…[I]owa lawmakers sought ways this spring to curb nitrates and phosphorus but failed to pass any measures.”

The Journal article added that, “Last year, Republican Gov. John Kasich also signed legislation that prohibits farmers from spreading fertilizer on ground that is frozen, snow-covered or saturated, or if there is a forecast of rain over the next 12 to 24 hours, depending on the type of fertilizer used.”

Donnelle Eller reported on the front page of Sunday’s Des Moines Register that, “Across the state [Iowa], some producers are using a loophole in Iowa law — designed to make it easy for smaller farmers to add pigs at their farmstead — to skirt protections for families, schools, businesses and churches, critics say.

“Couple that with another state loophole that lets corporations with different owners locate next to each other, and the result is that producers can build several confinements in a small area, stacking thousands of pigs close to rural families — with virtually no state or local oversight.”

The Register article indicated that, “The struggle over smaller, unregulated hog confinement facilities is the latest fight in the long battle between Iowa’s $17 billion pork industry and critics who contend that the state’s reticence to pass more restrictive rules has led to manure fouling the state’s water and odors making neighbors’ homes unlivable.

“A new animal confinement facility with 2,500 or more pigs must apply for a construction permit that state engineers review. And it must sit at least 1,875 feet from residences, businesses, churches and schools, and 2,500 feet from public use areas such as parks…[B]ut those restrictions don’t apply to facilities with fewer than 2,500 pigs — and some pork producers are using that cutoff to their advantage. The state has even fewer restrictions on facilities with 1,250 or fewer hogs, another threshold that some producers have exploited at the expense of neighbors and water quality.”

Ms. Eller pointed out that, “But lawmakers have shied away from revising the state’s hog confinement laws, unwilling to reopen that extremely divisive can of worms in a state where the pork industry holds considerable political sway.”

Yesterday’s article added that, “Iowa has so few regulations governing small confinement operations, the Iowa DNR is unable to say exactly how many small facilities dot Iowa.”

A recent update from the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) indicated that, “[USDA] today announced that farmers and ranchers filing crop acreage reports with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and participating insurance providers approved by the Risk Management Agency (RMA) now can provide the common information from their acreage reports at one office and the information will be electronically shared with the other location.

“This new process is part of the USDA Acreage Crop Reporting Streamlining Initiative (ACRSI). This interagency collaboration also includes participating private crop insurance agents and insurance companies, all working to streamline the information collected from farmers and ranchers who participate in USDA programs.”

The USDA news item noted that, “Since 2009, USDA has been working to streamline the crop reporting process for agricultural producers, who have expressed concerns with providing the same basic common information for multiple locations. In 2013, USDA consolidated the deadlines to 15 dates for submitting these reports, down from the previous 54 dates at RMA and 17 dates for FSA. USDA representatives believe farmers and ranchers will experience a notable improvement in the coming weeks as they approach the peak season for crop reporting later this summer.

“More than 93 percent of all annual reported acres to FSA and RMA now are eligible for the common data reporting, and USDA is exploring adding more crops.”

The update added that, “The new customer self-service portal, known as FSAFarm+, gives farmers and ranchers online access to securely view, print or export their personal farm data. To enroll in the online service, producers are encouraged to contact their local FSA office for details. To find a local FSA office in your area, visit http://offices.usda.gov.”

Reuters writer  P.J. Huffstutter reported yesterday that, “Collapsing prices for U.S. corn and soybeans have made it harder for some farmers to pay their property taxes, at a time when these tax bills are soaring and the rate of farm bankruptcies is growing.

“Over the past three years, farmland property taxes have jumped as much as 400 percent in parts of the United States, according to state and federal government data. One farmer in Ohio said his property tax bill has skyrocketed to more than $100 an acre from less than $20 seven years ago.

“Farmers say the problem, in many cases, is rooted in the reversal in the grain market. They now are scrambling to come up with the money to pay tax bills based heavily on incomes they enjoyed when crop prices were booming in 2012.”

The Reuters article pointed out that, “The disconnect between taxes and revenue had people like Ohio corn farmer Bruce Kettelle trying to use every possible inch of his 200 acres to boost income this season.

“If the weather holds, he expects his profit to be a little over $100 per acre. The tax bill due this autumn could be as much as $105 per acre.

“Seven years ago, Kettelle said, his farm’s profit was $205 an acre – with a tax bill of $19.50 per acre.”

Yesterday’s article added that, “Such fears have prompted a group of farmers and landowners to sue Ohio, claiming farmland owners were overcharged billions of dollars in property taxes. According to the state court filing, the average current agricultural use value tax collections from 2005 to 2013 jumped 374 percent, from $1.8 billion a year to $6.8 billion a year.”

Recall that back in April, the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed stricter federal rules governing organic livestock and poultry farmers, and that late last month, the Republican and Democrat leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees sent a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack calling on the Department to grant a 90-day extension of the public comment period for this proposed rule.

A news release yesterday from the Senate Agriculture Committee stated that, “U.S. Senate and House Agriculture Committee leadership today announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) granted their request for an extension of the public comment period for the agency’s proposed rule regarding revised organic livestock and poultry production standards.

“‘We are pleased the USDA acted immediately to allow producers, consumers, retailers and animal health experts more time to offer their comments on the proposed rules,’ the lawmakers said. ‘We will continue to work with the Department to address the concerns being raised by our constituents.'”

Ken Anderson reported yesterday at Brownfield that, “The Coalition for Safe Affordable Food (CFSAF) says it is ‘imperative’ that Senate Agriculture Committee leaders reach agreement this week on a GMO labeling bill.

“The coalition, which is made up of agricultural groups, food companies and other ag- and food-related stakeholders, is urging chairman Pat Roberts and ranking member Debbie Stabenow to reach a bipartisan compromise and bring it to the Senate floor. The group says it’s confident that a Roberts-Stabenow compromise can get 60 votes in the Senate and can be passed by the House before Vermont’s GMO labeling law goes into effect July 1st. But for that to happen, the coalition says, the compromise must be reached this week.”

Recall that Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) recently indicated that he viewed legislative action unlikely before Vermont’s own law takes effect next month.

Additional background on the GMO labeling issue is available here.